Week Ending - 2025/04/26

BADGERS DUO WITNESS ATHLETICS HISTORY

This year’s London Marathon attracted a record 59,000 runners to the capital, and there were two Badgers in the mammoth field to witness one of the most groundbreaking moments of sporting history, as not one but two men broke the two-hour mark for the marathon distance for the first time in a race environment. Bill Gutheridge and Susie Stringer were the only two in the club to be a part of a moment that must surely rank as monumental as Roger Bannister becoming the first person to break the 4-minute mile or Jim Hines running the 100m in under ten seconds. 

It was an unusually low turnout for the club who regularly sends double figures to the capital, but nonetheless the plucky pair made the best of their opportunity to be part of history. It was very much a case of the Old Bill in London as no one at Badgers said, ever, probably, as veteran star Bill Gutheridge, lucky recipient of the Badgers club place, took to the streets after a far from imperfect build-up. Such is his way, the long-serving athlete did not complain but quietly continued his training as best he could in the hope of doing his team proud in the event. And he undoubtedly achieved that aim and with bells on, setting off determinedly and clocking 1:50 for the halfway split. By the time he reached the finish on The Mall, he crossed the line in 3:48:45, a splendid second half and a real show of strength and resilience over the most challenging of recognised distances. It was an eleven-minute personal best for the 46-year-old who was understandably thrilled to bits with his efforts.

Susie Stringer was running her third consecutive London marathon, this time for the Armed Forces charity SSAFA. Her training looked solid enough, but events beyond her control in the immediate run-up to the race day conspired against her, and she was left having to battle it out, with multiple added stressors when she commenced her race at 10am. However, in addition to pure pace, Stringer is a woman who has determination in spades, and she was not going to be defeated, having trained and fundraised so hard. Splitting the first half in 1:51, she too looked set for a sub-4 time but agonisingly missed out, eventually getting done in 4:01:49 to complete a superb trio of successive medals. It was short of her personal best but as gallant a run as she has ever managed. 

Debbie Bremner ran 5:13:58 at the Blackpool marathon, a great new personal best for her. With her was the incredible Peter Mann, who finished safely despite nursing a trapped nerve, on top of his double cancer battle, which mercifully seems to be going his way. Also in marathon action was Andy Altoft, cruelly robbed of a starting place at Manchester thanks to an untimely chest infection; the softly spoken club treasurer duly lined up at Stratford a week later, hoping to cash in on what had been a superb training block. His reward was a big personal best time of 4:11:23, despite having to hang on grimly in the closing 7 or 8 miles after an enthusiastic start. His veteran status has not stopped him from achieving PB’s across a number of different distances so far in 2026, and hopes are high for this trend to continue. 

Joining Andy in Stratford was a rejuvenated Beth Woodward, fit and firing again after injury and now running better than ever. Her time in the half-marathon of 95:40 was not just a massive 8-minute personal best but came within seconds of the club record too! A terrific performance without any doubt whatsoever, and hopefully a real positive indicator of what might lie ahead. Chris Young was the other Badger operating in the south of the county, completing the half-marathon as well in good time. 

Ebony Fennell ran further than anyone at the club as she successfully completed the Coventry Way 40 Challenge, clocking up 42 miles on route to the finish.

Parkrun saw limited action at the end of April, Megan Griffiths providing one of the high points with yet another first-place finish at Kingsbury Water Park and with it a course best time of 22:12. Rachael Browne also made the top ten not long after life-saving heart surgery. 

At Holbrooks, Chris Horton had his own Yomif Kejelcha moment as he powered his way round in 17:12, the fastest time at that venue since September 2025, only to not win! He was soundly beaten by speedy teenager James Hickman in 16:44.  

Joanne Crow, a veteran of 180 parkruns and approaching her fiftieth year, by rights should be nowhere near running personal bests. However, once again, she defied convention and put her foot to the floor at Barmouth on a glorious Saturday morning and romped home in a time of 24:45, her first sub-25 time and a huge PB to boot, a magnificent achievement and no mistake.

Babbs Mill saw Mark Cox take third in 19:30 and birthday girl Mia Cox 10th lady. Mark Repton ran a solid 20:02 at Tamworth to make the top ten, too.